The College Level Academic Skills Test (CLAST) is a part of Florida’s system of educational accountability. CLAST is a state-mandated achievement test that measures attainment of communication and mathematics skills expected of students completing their sophomore year in college. These skills were identified by the faculties of community colleges and state universities and ad­opted by the State Board of Education. A student must pass the CLAST or achieve alternate criteria to receive an Associate in Arts or a baccalaureate degree from any Florida public institution.

Please Note: CLAST exemptions or waivers are not acceptable for admission to or graduation from programs in the College of Education. Refer to the Office of Testing Services, SVC 2060, for the current policies on CLAST.

Students who have already earned a baccalaureate degree from a regionally-accredited institution are exempt from the CLAST requirement at USF.  In addition, students who have earned an Associate of Arts degree from a Florida public community college are exempt from the CLAST requirement at USF.  An Associate of Science degree is not sufficient to exempt CLAST at USF.

The State Board of Education has established minimum CLAST score standards for awarding the Associate in Arts degree and for the baccalaureate degree after October 1, 1992 as follows: Reading, 295; English Language Skills, 295; Mathematics, 295; and Essay, 6.

CLAST may be taken by undergraduate, degree-seeking students who have earned 18 semester hours or the equivalent and who apply to take the test on or before the deadline established for registration. Students at USF are required to take the CLAST by the time they complete 45 semester hours. First-time-in-college and lower-level transfer students are encouraged to take the CLAST as early as possible. Transfer students should take the CLAST the first semester they are enrolled as degree-seeking students if they have already exceeded the 45 hours from previous institutions.

Students may receive exemptions for the CLAST examination by achieving specific EACT or SAT-I scores, or by earning a 2.5 GPA in specific courses. Exemptions are awarded for the communication subtests of CLAST if an SAT-I Verbal score of 500 or an EACT English score of 21 and an EACT Reading score of 22 are achieved. Exemptions are awarded for the mathematics CLAST subtest if an SAT-I Mathematics score of 500 or an EACT Mathematics score of 21 is earned. Students receive exemptions from the CLAST communication subtests if a 2.5 GPA is achieved in at least six hours of ENC 1101 and ENC 1102. Exemptions from the CLAST mathematics subtest are issued when students have earned a 2.5 GPA in at least six hours of MAC 1105 or higher, MGF 1106 or higher and STA 1022 or higher. Any combination of these courses is permissible, providing only one statistics course is used to calculate the six-hour mathematics GPA.

CLAST EXEMPTION RULES

To be exempted from the College Level Academic Skills Test (CLAST) by means of college level courses, you must earn at least a 2.5 grade point average in certain courses. Grades in similar courses may or may not exempt a student from the CLAST graduation requirement.

Mathematics Exemption
To be exempt from the Mathematics subtest of the CLAST, the student must:

• earn a 2.5 GPA in two of the following courses (at least 6 semester hours), or
• receive an SAT-I Mathematics score of 500, or
• recieve an EACT Mathematics score of 21.

Mathematics Exemption Courses

• any MAC course with the last three digits being higher than 102
• MGF *106 Finite Mathematics
• MGF *107 Liberal Arts Mathematics II
• any other MGF course with the last three digits being 202 or higher
• PSY3204 Psychological Statistics
• all courses with a STA or QMB prefix

NOTE: Two STA or QMB courses may not be used to exempt CLAST. One of the two courses must be an MGF or MAC course as outlined above. PHI2101 “Intro to Formal Logic” does not count towards CLAST exemption.

English Language Exemption
To be exempt from the Essay, English Grammar and Reading subtests of the CLAST, the student must earn:

• a 2.5 GPA in the following two courses (at least 6 semester hours)
  • ENC 1101 or
  • ENC 1102; or

• SAT-I Verbal score of 500, or
• an EACT English score of 21 and an EACT Reading score of 22

Waivers of CLAST subtest

Seeking a Waiver for One Subtest of the CLAST

A student who is unable to pass a subtest of the CLAST must satisfy and document the following criteria to apply for a waiver:

• Clear effort to take the CLAST; i.e., you must have taken the CLAST subtest in question at least four (4) times
• Significant progress toward the degree; i.e., you must have completed at least 96 hours toward your baccalaureate
• You must complete one of the courses listed below in addition to two completed general education courses in the subject area after at least one unsuccessful CLAST attempt.

Writing Courses Accepted for a Low Essay Subtest Score on the CLAST:

• ENC 3310: Expository Writing
• ENC 1101: Freshman English I
• ENC 1102: Freshman English II

English Courses Accepted for a Low English Language Skills Subtest Score on the CLAST:

• LIN 4671: Traditional English Grammar
• LIN 3670: English Grammar

Reading Course Accepted for a Low Reading Subtest Score on the CLAST:

• REA 2105: Critical Reading and Writing

Mathematics Courses Accepted for a Low Mathematics Subtest Score on the CLAST:

(NOTE: The rule of thumb is that any general education math class will be acceptable as a “remedial” effort. We no longer require students to obtain tutoring or participate in workshops, although that is a perfectly good way to prepare to retake the test.)

• MAC 1105: College Algebra or any other MAC course with the last three digits being higher than 102
• STA 2023: Introductory Statistics I
• STA 2022: Basic Statistics
• MGF 1106: Finite Mathematics
• MGF 1107: Liberal Arts Mathematics II
• Any other MGF course with the last three digits being higher than 102
• STA *014: Statistical Methods or any other STA or QMB course
• PSY 3204: Psychological Statistics

After these three steps are complete, the student will meet with her/his college CLAST advisor to review qualification for a waiver. The advisor will evaluate the waiver request and forward her/his recommendations to the co-ITA (Dr. Campaigne) by e-mail. If the recommendation is favorable and qualifications verified, the waiver will be granted. If the recommendation is unfavorable, normally the advisor and the student will negotiate a solution. However the student may appeal a waiver denial to a committee (contact 974-4555).

Disability waivers

Section 1008.29(5), F.S., and State Board of Education (SBE) Rule 6A-10.0311(6), FAC, provide special consideration for students in public institutions who have a specific learning disability such that they cannot successfully complete one or more CLAST subtests. At USF, a student must first register with Academic Support and Accommodations for Students with Disabilities (ASASD) in order to document their learning disability. A request for waiver from the student will be submitted to the director of ASASD who will forward a recommendation to the Associate Dean of Undergraduate Studies for final decision.

Associate of Arts degree from Florida public CC or university

USF will accept official notification of an A.A. degree awarded from a Florida public community college or SUS institution as evidence of a student having satisfied the CLAST requirement.

Waivers from individual CLAST subtests are granted in two situations:

• a specific documented learning disability prevents the student from achieving the skills set forth in SBE 6A-10.0316 (consult with Academic Support and accommodation for Students with Disabilities, SVC 1133)
• a student has successfully completed courses related to a specific subtest, but has failed to satisfy the CLAST requirement with a passing score or an exemption.

After failing a CLAST subtest four times and successfully completing a specific three-hour course related to the failed subtest, a student may apply for a waiver by submitting appropriate documentation to the student’s CLAST Advisor. A list of approved courses to satisfy this requirement is available elsewhere on this web site.